


Of Books and Bunnies

by SelenaTerna



Series: Beetlejuice, Fluffy Overlord [2]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humour, hidden romance (because it's them), just happy floofy fluff, looooots of fluff, nine telling off the rabbit, reading in the library, sassy rabbit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-10 04:09:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15941507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SelenaTerna/pseuds/SelenaTerna
Summary: Rose panics when she can't find Beetlejuice....only to find him in a very unexpected place.





	Of Books and Bunnies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rose_Nebula](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_Nebula/gifts).



> Hello lovelies! Happy 9/9! I cobbled together this fluffy nonsense for 9/9, in honour of our beloved doctor, because I had to write something, and apparently my muse is absolutely not in the mood for anything serious. Apparently, it also wants to continue with Beetlejuice, which is now turning into a *thing*. So....yeah. happy nine for nine! This is for Anne, who planted the idea of nine reading to Beetlejuice in my head the other day. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Unbeta'd.

“ _When he heard a voice thus calling to him, he was standing at the door of his box, with a flag in his hand, furled round its short pole. One would have thought, considering the nature of the ground, that-”_

The door banged opened. _“_ Doctor!”

The Doctor frowned at the interruption and marked his place in the Signal-Man. “What you doin’ up, Rose? It’s the middle of your sleep cycle.” Seeing a pale and shaking Rose, however, his irritation vanished. “What’s happened?”

“It’s Beetlejuice,” she said, almost on a sob.

He narrowed his eyes. “What’s that rabbit gone and done now?”

“He’s missin!” She sniffled. “I couldn’t sleep an’ I thought I’d have a cuddle and I can’t find him! He’s gone, Doctor!”

The Doctor shifted. “Rose, I-”

“I’ve looked _everywhere!”_ She interrupted, upset. “I searched his garden and his box and the console room and the galley and the Infirmary and _everywhere_ and I couldn’t find him!”

“Rose-”

“What if something’s happened to him?” She fretted. “What if he’s hurt, or, or-”

“Rose!” He interrupted, firmly this time.

“What?” She shook her head. “He’s _missin_ ’, Doctor! We have to find him!”

“He’s….he’s not missin’, Rose.”

“But I just _told_ you that I can’t find him-”

The Doctor cleared his throat. “That’s because he’s here… in the library.”

Rose stared. “What?”

“He’s in the library,” he repeated, flushing a dull red.

“What on earth….what’s he doin’ in here? An’ where is he?”

The Doctor shifted slightly and lowered the book in his lap…only to reveal a fat, fluffy black and white lop-eared rabbitchewing on the page. “Oi! No eatin’ the Dickens, you,” the Doctor chided, gently tugging the page from him.

Beetlejuice blinked innocently at him.

(The Doctor worried that the rabbit had spent far too much time with Jack, learning that innocent look).

Rose stared at him. “You mean….you were readin’ _Dickens_ to him?”

The Doctor shrugged defensively. “Just because he’s a rabbit doesn’t mean he can’t appreciate the classics, Rose.”

He was relieved to see that the colour had returned to her face, although he was worried about the amused grin that had appeared.

“You….were reading to him.”

“What? I read to you sometimes, don’t I?”

“You were reading Dickens to a _rabbit_.” She smirked, sauntering over to his armchair.“The rabbit you didn’t want to keep, Doctor."

“Oi! I didn’t say I didn’t want him.” He folded his arms, leather jacket creaking. “Was just worried whether we had the time to look after him. Was thinkin’ of _him_ , me.”

Rose grinned, plopping onto the arm of the chair. “Why don’t you admit it, Doctor? You were lonely and I was asleep so you went for the rabbit.”

“Well, at least the rabbit doesn’t give me any lip- don’t you look at me like that!” The Doctor chided the lop-eared troublemaker, who was looking at him doubtfully. “What’ve I told you about givin’ me attitude?”

Rose laughed, her tears long gone. “Doctor, he’s a bunny- how can he give you attitude? He can’t even talk!”

“That’s what _you_ think,” the Doctor scoffed. “Lookit ‘im, sitting there all seeming innocence. He knows exactly what he’s doin’, Rose and he knows he has you wrapped around his front paw!” He fixed her with a stern look. “I told you not to spoil him- he needs firm handlin’, this one.”

“Oh, come on Doctor,” she laughed, reaching for the rabbit. “Beetlejuice, you want to come with mummy instead of sitting through a lecture?”

“Oi! First off, it’s not a lecture, and second, he likes the Dickens!” He said, affronted. “And _mummy?”_

“I’m like his mum! An’ why don’t we let him pick what he wants to do,” Rose grinned, holding her hands out to the rabbit, who hopped into them without a moment’s thought.

“Traitor,” the Doctor muttered. “See if I let you have the extra lettuce from the garden again.”

The rabbit wrinkled his nose insolently at him from his place against Rose. 

The Doctor narrowed his eyes at him. “S’pose you’re goin’ to go back to bed now that you’ve found the fluffball?”

“Nope.”

“Nope?” He looked up, mystified.

“Told you, I can’t sleep.” With that, she shifted to the left and landed in his lap.

“Oi! Watch the Dickens!”

Shuffling around, she made herself comfortable and snuggled into his chest, Beetlejuice clutched against her. “Go on, then.”

“Go on, what?”

“Read!” She rested her cheek against his chest. “You can read to both of us.”

“An’ what happens when you fall asleep?” He asked, trying to hide his pleasure at the current seating arrangements. “You plannin’ to spend the whole night in me lap?”

She lifted her head and smiled cheekily at him, tongue touching her teeth. “Might do- you Time Lords are pretty comfy.”

He rolled his eyes, trying to suppress his answering smile. “We gettin’ back to the Signal-Man, or what?”

She rested her head against his chest again and he couldn’t help but briefly close his eyes, contented. “Ready when you are, Doctor.”

Coming back to himself, he opened his eyes and cleared his throat, bringing the book up to rest on her shoulder. “Might as well make yourself useful while you’re there.”

She giggled. “Come on, already!”

“Right.” He cleared his throat again, and resumed where he and Beetlejuice had left off. _“One would have thought, considering the nature of the ground, that he could not have doubted from what quarter the voice came; but instead of looking up to where I stood on the top of the steep cutting nearly over his head, he turned himself about, and looked down the Line….”_

Less than an hour later, he closed the book and looked down at the sleeping Rose. He supposed he could carry her to her bed, but if he were being honest with himself, he was just fine where he was, thanks.

With Jack still on Olpais, there was no harm in their sleeping there, was there?

“What d’you think?” The Doctor asked the black and white fluff ball poking out from Rose’s shirt. “Stay here?”

The rabbit eyed him knowingly.

“None o’ that!” The Doctor whispered. “You keep your mind out of the gutter. I just don’t want to wake Rose.”

The rabbit seemed to smirk.

“Watch it.” The Doctor narrowed his eyes at the rodent. “Or you’ve seen the last of the carrots, this week.”

The rabbit immediately closed his eyes, feigning sleep.

“That’s more like it,” he nodded in satisfaction. He shifted slightly, wishing there was a blanket close by to cover Rose - and himself- with. Moments later, Rose’s favourite blue fluffy blanket appeared on the arm of the chair, neatly folded.

The Doctor chuckled quietly. “S’pose that settles that, doesn’t it? Thanks old girl.”

The TARDIS hummed quietly, loathe to wake Rose.

The Doctor shook his head. Chuckling to himself, he carefully and gently draped the blanket over the both of them. Sighing, he pulled her more snugly into him and closed his eyes.

She shifted, murmuring slightly, and he soothed her.

“Sleep, Rose,” he murmured.

“Night Doctor,” she mumbled, before falling back asleep.

“Night Rose,” he whispered.

Something shifted under the blanket, and he chuckled. “Night, Beetlejuice.”

The shifting ceased.

Shaking his head at the rabbit’s antics, the Doctor closed his eyes. He wasn’t particularly tired,but he could rest a bit….

Moments later they were all three asleep, and the TARDIS hummed happily, watching over her Wolf and her Thief.

And their rabbit.

_Fin_

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Come follow me on Tumblr at countessselena.tumblr.com


End file.
